Per capita caloric intake increased in last 6 years: BBS report
The daily per capita calorie intake has increased to 2,393 kcal, which was 2,210.4 kcal per day in 2016.
The preliminary report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Household Income Expenditure Survey (HIES) has revealed that calorie intake has increased by 182.6 kilocalories per day in six years.
According to the report, the daily intake was 2,318 kilocalories in 2010, but it decreased in the following years. Calorie intake again increased by 8.26% over the last six years.
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The poverty benchmark in caloric intake method is considered to be 2,122 kcal per capita per day. So, right now the per capita calorie intake in Bangladesh is above the poverty benchmark.
Meanwhile, households have increased their food expenditure by almost 90% over the past six years to increase the calorie intake, the report found.
Earlier, households spent an average of Tk7,354 a month on food, but in 2022, the amount stood at Tk14,003. As a result, the average expenditure of each household on food has increased by Tk6,649.
However, the average expenditure of households increased by 98.46% during this period. And household spending in the non-food sector increased by 106%.
As non-food expenditure increased at a higher rate, the share of food in total household expenditure fell to 45.8%. In 2016, 47.7% of total household expenditure was spent on food. And in 2010 its amount was 54.81%.
